A parole board does not err in law by taking into account, in a negative sense, a prisoner's failure to complete treatment programs where that failure results from the prisoner's denial of guilt, provided the board does not adopt a blanket rule requiring admission of guilt as a precondition to release. In cases of serious persistent sexual crime, the board is entitled to conclude that continued denial of guilt means the risk to the community either remains high or cannot be objectively assessed. The court left open whether alternative means of objectively assessing risk independently of admission of guilt might be available.
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